North Korean Officials Visit Spain to get Beach Resort Inspiration

North Korean Officials Visit Spain to get Beach Resort Inspiration

Leader Kim Jong-Un

North Korea is known for doing things their own way and locking themselves out from the rest of the world. It seems the only time we hear from the country is when they are attempting to push their latest propaganda.

Even the North Koreans are willing to admit they aren’t the best at everything however, which is why the nation is known to (unofficially) import computers, cars, and wines from around the world.

While one could hardly import their own ready-made beach resort, North Koreans are doing the best they actually can do; which is sending20 officials off to the Spanish resorts of Salou and Benidorm in order to learn from the best how to deliver great tourism.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Dear Leader Kim Jong-Un is looking to build a Mediterranean-style resort in the North Korean coastal city of Wonsan.

The North Korean embassy of Madrid did indeed confirm officials enjoyed a fact-finding road-trip along the Mediterranean coast of Spain, stopping in Benidorm; where officials were reportedly amazed by the dimensions of the famous holiday parks and towers of the resort.

The officials also cited the Marina d’Or tourism complex of Orpoesa del Mar as being the closest thing to what North Korea are planning to build in Wonsan. They say that the new resort in the country is to be aimed at both domestic and international markets.

The 20 officials from North Korea are said to have visited Barcelona but were reportedly unimpressed with the architectural and cultural highlights of the city; rather they focused on the beaches that surround the edges of the city.

A spokesman from the embassy said that they were so focused on the beaches because that is what they were most interested in.

The history-based theme park Terra Mitica of Benidorm might serve as an inspiration for North Korea, however, as they said that it might be a good idea to create a theme park that shows how North Korea achieved perfection.

The embassy said that the delegates loved seeing how the theme park recreated Mediterranean civilisations, and felt it would be interesting to apply the concept to a theme park of their own; perhaps one covering Asian civilisations.

All that’s left now is to wonder how the delegates will eel after seeing the glitz, glamour, and individual wealth of areas such as PuertoBanús and the Costa del Sol.

Spanish King to Pay Visit to Queen Elizabeth II in June

Spanish King to Pay Visit to Queen Elizabeth II in June

The Spanish King Felipe the VI will visit the UK with his wife Letizia as part of an official state visit to meet with Queen Elizabeth II, the British head of state. The visit was due to happen last year, but was postponed due to the political deadlock of the country. Now King Felipe’s calendar for 2017 has been opened up for ceremonial matters following all the officiating he had to do with the political landscape of Spain last year.

As momentous as the visit from the Spanish king will be, it is likely to be overshadowed by a visit from controversial US president Donal Trump, who will be welcomed by the Queen later this year.

Even so, a meeting between the British and Spanish heads of state is always an occasion worth savouring, especially during the current climate of uncertainty caused by the Brexit and the future of the relationship between Spain and the UK. While it’s not very likely for the royals to discuss highly political matters, their meeting offers a chance to symbolically show both Brits and Spaniards that there is a lot of goodwill still between the countries, forged by their deeply connected ties.

A report was recently released by the Spanish government showing the damage that could be caused to both the Spanish and British economies by a “hard” Brexit, which could cost the economies of both countries by up to €4 billion. The good news is that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is seemingly taking a sensible approach to the Brexit, telling reporters that they should avoid dramatizing everything. He said that they just need to have good negotiations, which is just what the UK, Spain, and Europe as a whole want, and he expressed his hope everything will turn out well for all involved.

It might not make the headlines, but Rajoy makes a great point; the day will be won by sensible debate. If the heads of state for both nations can have a meeting filled with smiles, handshakes, and great photo opportunities, then it gets proceedings off to the right start and ensures a harmonious future for all.

September Sees 12% More Brits Visit Spain

September Sees 12% More Brits Visit Spain

The Costa del Sol has broken all records yet again

Spain is still going through one of the best years fortourism ever and the latest data from the Tourism Ministry shows the good year continues on because September saw 12% more British people than September of last year.

According to the data some 2 million Brits came to Spain in September; making for a grand total of 14.4 million Brits out of 60.3 million tourists across the whole year.

Spain saw a total of 7.9 million tourists in September, which was an increase of just over 10% over 2015. During the three-month period of July to September there was a total of 27.6 million visitors to Spain, an increase of the 25 million from 2015.

The Tourism Ministry predicts that Spain will see 74 million tourists by the end of the year, which would be a new record. Almost everyone is welcoming this news from hoteliers and bar owners to anyone watching the economy.

There are plenty of resorts that have the ability to handle these visitor numbers, there are also places such as Barcelona and Majorca that are already stretched to their limits.

The good news is that there is still room in the Costa del Sol for more hotels, resorts, and anything else visitors could want without disrupting the balance that makes buying property in the Costa del Sol and the surrounding areas uch a favourite with tourists.

Tour operator Exceltur undertook their own research that suggests that the number of tourists who become “officially registered” by booking at a hotel has gone up by 2% over the past two years. During these two years there has been an increase of 75% in private rentals.

Famous Faces Visit Marbella for Global Gift Foundation Party

Famous Faces Visit Marbella for Global Gift Foundation Party

Ronan Keating was the star of the show at this year’s Global Gift Gala out of Marbella.

Ronan Keating in Marbella recently.

Marbella played host to one of the most anticipated charity events in Spain across this past weekend. The party has always managed to bring in more stars than can usually be found in Marbella and this year was no exception.

Friday night saw a welcome cocktail party held at the La Sala nightclub, which was attended by former Boyzone star and current The Voice judge Ronan Keating and his new wife Storm.

Other stars flocking to the city included Ashley Williams from Made In Chelsea, TV presenter Olivia Cox and former popstar and X Factor judge Alesha Dixon, who also made an appearance at the Global Gift Gala dinner at the Gran Meliá Don Pepe hotel that was held the following night in Marbella.

Another famous face making an appearance was James Nesbitt, Irish star of Cold Feet. The party was held to celebrate the great work that the foundation does to improve the lives of children, women and families the world over who need some help.

Keating, 39, also took the time to play a round of golf with Nesbitt at the Estepona Golf Club as part of the Global Gift Golf sideshow, before taking to the stage for a performance at the evening bash hosted by Spanish actress María Bravo, who is also the founder of the charity.

The party has really become a major event over the past few years and it continues to bring in some major names. In the past it as played host to Victoria Beckham, Antonio Banderas, Ricky Martin, and honorary chair of the Foundation Eva Longoria come together to raise awareness of the foundation and their work.

July Saw 9.6 million Tourists Visit Spain, With One in Four Being Brits

July Saw 9.6 million Tourists Visit Spain, With One in Four Being Brits

Spain is Booming again with record numbers of Tourists

and the property market making a marvelous recover.

Records continue to be broken in Spain. With the cost of living being so low and the healthy lifestyle and warm climate. The country has recently seen its busiest July ever as the official government figures confirm that over 9.6 million tourists came to the country during the month.

This figure is an impressive 11% increase over last July and continued the trend of 2016 being a record-breaking year for Spain, with many of these records being broken thanks to the Brits.

One quarter of all the registered tourists in Spain in July came from Britain and were part of the largest shifts in tourism seen in years. Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia have seen a spate of terrorist attacks that have seriously driven down tourism numbers. Instead these millions of tourists are heading to safer destinations such as Spain and Bulgaria.

Barcelona, the Costa del Sol, and the Balearics and Canary Islands saw the biggest rises in tourism numbers. Majorca is also currently fully booked through the end of September according to the data.

The final tourism figures for August aren’t known just yet but the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) are predicting a 25% increase in visitor numbers for the month. Turkey has seen a 30% drop in tourism while Egypt has seen a 60% decrease. Tunisia has barely seen any tourists at all following a beach attack from 2015 that saw over 30 Brits gunned down.

The president of the Spanish Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association Rafael Gallego says that around 15% of the tourists that Spain welcomed would not have come to the country if it wasn’t for other destinations like Egypt and Tunisia closing down due to these tragic events.

While the country is always open to more tourists many in Spain feel that 2016 could be the peak of Spanish tourism unless new accommodation; such as hotels and apartments, are built soon.

The Spanish construction industry is already gearing up torise to the challenge, with house building reaching heights not seen in over 5years. Foreign developers are also keen to begin building real estate and hotels in the more popular regions of the country.

Things are also improving on the consumer level. Department store El Corte Inglés are reporting that they saw a 25% increase in sales over the last year. Fears before and after the Brexit about the value of the pound saw many Brits book all-inclusive packages to essentially lock in the price of their Spanish Holiday. Thomas Cook is reporting that six out of ten of the holidays they sold in Spain were all inclusive.

An ABTA spokeswoman said that the around 20% of all the Brits who go on holiday abroad now go to Spain. This means that one in five Brits who left the country to go on holiday went to Spain.